In the release of bombs from military aircraft an explosive charge of gas from detonation of a cartridge is delivered through a breech gun to impel an ejector foot in order to eject the bomb through the slip stream so as to clear the aircraft.
The cartridges are normally thin walled soft metal and tend to expand tightly against the breech of the gun, sometimes virtually freezing in the breech and in any event becoming wedged therein.
This condition becomes more aggravated if there is a time delay between firing and removal of the cartridge when rust or corrosion may occur.
In order to reuse the guns, it is necessary of course to remove the expended cartridge, and as presently accomplished the task is arduous, time consuming, and dangerous.
The gun is taken from the bomb rack, and the present primitive method of removing the cartridge consists of sliding the gun barrel over a long spike mounted on a bench and pounding the cartridge against the end of the spike. This is not only a slow manual procedure, but is unreliable, and according to reports, on occasion has resulted in the operator's hand being punctured on the spike. Within the knowledge of applicant, this is the only method being practiced.
The slowness of the process, the personal risk involved, and sometimes a total failure to remove the cartridge, is detrimental to military procedures.